Hawkish Israeli finance minister calls for facilitating migration of Palestinians from Gaza
Gaza (Quds News Network) – Ultranationalist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has renewed his call for the Palestinian population of Gaza to willfully migrate, suggesting that their departure would pave the way for Israelis who “would make the desert bloom.”
Smotrich, known for his bitter hatred of Palestinians and Arabs, and who is not part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet discussions on Gaza’s future, emphasized the need to encourage emigration from the Strip during an interview with Israeli Army Radio on Sunday.
In his racist remaks, Smotrich proposed that reducing Gaza’s population to 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs instead of the current two million would significantly alter the post-war scenario.
“Most of Israeli society will say: ‘Why not? It’s a nice place, let’s make the desert bloom, it doesn’t come at anyone’s expense’.”
According to him, this change could lead to a more positive perception of Gaza in Israel, with many Israelis expressing interest in developing the area without the perceived threat from the current population.
In response, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned Smotrich’s call as a “war crime accompanied by criminal aggression.”
Hamas urged the international community and the United Nations to intervene and hold Israel accountable for its actions against the Palestinian people.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also rejected any notion of forced displacement in a speech on Sunday, asserting, “We will not allow displacement, whether from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.”
